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Flight Against the Bismarck by Philip West. (AP) - Naval Art

Flight Against the Bismarck by Philip West. (AP)


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Flight Against the Bismarck by Philip West. (AP)

The Royal Navys week long chase of the formidable German battleship Bismarck culminated in the foul evening weather of 26th May 1941. Despite the deck of HMS Ark Royal pitching through 55 feet, S/Lt John Moffat was one of fifteen Swordfish pilots who took off to attack Bismarck. After 90 minutes of arduous and turbulent flying the Swordfish found their quarry and dived through the intense anti-aircraft fire to drop their torpedoes. One of these hit and jammed Bismarcks rudder and condemned the battleship to sail in slow circles. The Royal Navys own capital ships then closed in and pounded Bismarck into a burning wreck.


VIEW ALL PHILIP WEST NAVAL ART

VIEW ALL HMS ARK ROYAL (1937) SHIP ART

AMAZING VALUE! - The value of the signatures on this item is in excess of the price of the print itself!
Item Code : DHM2320APFlight Against the Bismarck by Philip West. (AP) - This Edition
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
ARTIST
PROOF
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs.

SOLD OUT.
Paper size 16 inches x 26 inches (41cm x 66cm) Moffat, John William Jock
Brand, Stanley t
Gillis, N C
Vibert, Bruce
Suthers, Sidney Hal Jim
+ Artist : Philip West


Signature(s) value alone : £180
SOLD
OUT
NOT
AVAILABLE
All prices on our website are displayed in British Pounds Sterling



Other editions of this item : Flight Against the Bismarck by Philip West.DHM2320
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
PRINT Signed limited edition of 100 prints. Paper size 16 inches x 26 inches (41cm x 66cm) Brand, Stanley t
Gillis, N C
Vibert, Bruce
+ Artist : Philip West


Signature(s) value alone : £75
£40 Off!Now : £140.00VIEW EDITION...
General descriptions of types of editions :


Signatures on this item
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo


Commander Sidney Hal Jim Suthers DSC DFC RN (deceased)
*Signature Value : £35

Joined the Air Branch of the Royal Navy in January 1939 and gained his pilot's wings in July 1940. Joined 824 Naval Air Squadron operating Swordfish from HMS Eagle in January 1941. Operations in Red Sea, Indian Ocean, South Atlantic and Mediterranean until September 1942. Instructional duties thereafter until the end of World War II. Post war he converted to helicopters commanding 705 and 848 (Malaya) Naval Air Squadrons. Sadly, Jim Suthers passed away on 22nd February 2007.


The signature of Lieut (A) N C Gillis RNVR.

Lieut (A) N C Gillis RNVR.
*Signature Value : £25

Volunteered for training as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm in 1940. After training he was posted to join HMS Indomitable and sent to the Far East. The posting did not materialise and after some months in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and Nairobi, Kenya, joined 810 Squadron in HMS Illustrious. 810 was a Swordfish squadron and remained so until HMS Illustrious returned to UK. The squadron then reformed with Barracuda aircraft and rejoined the Illustrious. After a short spell with the Home Fleet the Illustrious was despatched to serve with the Mediterranean Fleet, subsequently returning to the Home Fleet. 810 Squadron served in the ship during this time and was retained in the ship when she retuned to the Eastern Fleet and was actively engaged in the Burma campaign. During joint operations with the US carrier Saratoga, Lt Gillis was mentioned in Despatches during the operation at Sabang in Malaysia. Having overspent his time in an operational squadron he was returned to UK where he served as Dive-Bombing Instructor at RNAS Crail, then converted onto twin-engine aircraft and flew in a Mosquito squadron until demobilised in 1946.


The signature of Lieutenant Commander John William Jock Moffat RN (deceased)

Lieutenant Commander John William Jock Moffat RN (deceased)
*Signature Value : £70

John Moffat was born in Kelso in 1919 and at the outbreak of WWII, was sent to Sydenham, Belfast where a training school, set up by Short Brothers, was based. John learnt to fly in a Miles Magister. During 1939, he was sent to No.1 Flying Training School at Netheravon and here he was taught to fly advanced open-cockpit aircraft such as Hawker Hinds and Audaxes. Commissioned into the RNVR as a sub-lieutenant he was moved to Eastlee (now Southampton Airport) to the Naval Fighter School, learning fighter techniques in Blackburn Skuas and Rocs and the well-known Gloster Gladiator. In 1940, John was moved to Sanderling, the Royal Naval air station at Abbotsinch (now known as Glasgow Airport). In 1941, on board HMS Ark Royal stationed at Gibraltar, they were ordered to assist in the hunt for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. The aircraft headed first to HMS Sheffield who gave them signals by Aldis Lamp on the position of the Bismarck. John Moffat served on HMS Ark Royal, HMS Argus, HMS Furious and HMS Formidable, and served with 759 Sqn, 818 Sqn, 820 Sqn and 824 Sqn. He died on 11th December 2016.


The signature of Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR

Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR
*Signature Value : £20

Although in a reserved occupation volunteered on his 18th birthday to train as pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. He flew open cockpit biplane Swordfish aircraft from Merchant Aircraft Carriers called 'Macships'. These were 8000 ton grain ships or oil tankers fitted with a flight deck, carrying their usual cargo and manned by a Merchant Navy Master and crew. They sailed in convoy back and forth across the North Atlantic in all the extreme weather conditions experiened on that ocean. The oil tankers lacked a hangar, so maintenance was carried out on open deck exposing the aircraft, ground crew and aircrew to the fury of the sea, ice and gales. By keeping U-boats submerged instead of allowing them free range on the surface, in 24 months only two merchant ships were sunk by the enemy in convoys protected by Macships. This was in spite of there being greater numbers and more efficient U-boats at sea in this period than at the time of our greatest losses in the Battle of the Atlantic.


Sub Lieut Bruce Vibert
*Signature Value : £30

Volunteered for the Fleet Air Arm in May 1941 and helped to form 842 Squadron, the Royal Navy's last to be formed with the Fairey Swordfish in March 1943. Working mainly from the escort carrier HMS Fencer during the squadron's two-year existence, the role was anti-submarine, ranging from the occupation of the Azores to North Russia. Protection to the Home Fleet was also given during two operations against 'Tirpitz', sheltering in Northern Norway. The Squadron finally came under Coastal Command to work the Western Approaches and English Channel. It achieved several successes against the U-Boats. He later served in the Pacific as a deck landing control officer before, post war, joining the RCN and there becoming a helicopter pilot. Today he supports the RNHF as a speaker about the Swordfish.
The Aircraft :
NameInfo
SwordfishTorpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane, crewed by three, with a top speed of 154mph, reduced to 136mph as a float plane. Maximum ceiling 19,000 feet, reduced as a float plane. Armed with a .303 Vickers machine gun fixed forward and one in the rear cockpit. One 1610lb torpedo or up to 1500lb bomb load. At the outbreak of world war two the fleet air arm had 13 operational squadrons. The Fairey Swordfish has earned its place in history for major contributions to naval warfare, during the Norwegian campaign, and especially during the raid on Taranto. In November1940, twenty Swordfish took off from HMS Illustrious to attack the Italian fleet in their Harbour of Taranto. At Least nine torpedoes hit their targets. Seven Italian ships were badly damaged including the battleships, Caio Duillio, Littorio and Conte De Cavour. This was followed in February 1942, by a heroic but suicidal attack on German battlecruisers in the English Channel by six Swordfish of 825 squadron from RAF Manston. All aircraft and crews were lost. This resulted in a Victoria Cross for the leader Lieutenant Commander E Esmonde. The next major event was the torpedo attack on the Bismarck by Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal, which badly damaged the steering gear of the Bismarck which helped in the final destruction of the German battleship by Royal Navy battleships. The Fairey Swordfish was also used in anti-submarine and anti-shipping roles. The Swordfish sunk more enemy ships (by tonnage) than any other aircraft acting in the same role. By the end of the war the Fleet Air Arm still had nine active squadrons, but these were finally disbanded in May 1945. A total of 2399 Swordfish were built.

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